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Mildred Bailey

“One of the first female singers to make a name for herself in the American pantheon of jazz, Coeur d’Alene tribal member Mildred Bailey (1907-1951) managed to capture the subtleties of the era’s blues and ragtime music. Bailey early on developed her own unique way to underline the meaning of the words she sang. She performed with some of the finest musicians of the swing era – including Benny Goodman, Paul Whiteman, Coleman Hawkins, and Red Norvo, her husband for most of the 1930s. Plagued by health problems for much of her life, she died when she was only 44 years old in 1951.”

Sweet, smooth vocals always get my attention and I’m a sucker for a well played vocal scat – thus my ears perked up when I first heard Julia Keefe of the Nez Perce Tribe. Her voice is of another era and stands out in this one as one of the only jazz songbirds in Indian Country. But she’s not the first. …read more »